MONROE — In the wake of what police say were two attempted child abductions in the county this month, local law enforcement is advising residents to be vigilant.

Four elementary school children were nearly abducted while walking home from a bus stop Monday near the entrance of the Meadowood neighborhood in Monroe, according to Monroe Police.

Police said a man, described as heavyset, wearing glasses, and driving in a white four door car, asked the children if they needed a ride. One of the girls reported that she told him no four times before he finally drove away.

On Oct. 11, two brothers, ages 6 and 8, were playing outside their home in The Reserve subdivision in Marvin when a car with two women and a man drove up to them, said Lt. Cody Luke of the Union County Sheriff’s Office. The 8-year-old reported that the female in the back seat was reaching her arms out toward the boys when the 6-year-old turned around and noticed. They quickly went inside, Luke said.

“When these things happen, we tend to up our patrols in the area and try to get the word out in the community,” he said.

Luke described the two suspected abductions in as many weeks “alarming” but said the sheriff’s office has no reason to believe the two incidents are connected.

According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, there are 51 cases of missing children in North Carolina and only one case from Union County. Vasti Colmenares Gutierrez, 17, of Marshville went missing April 21, 2008 and is listed as an endangered runaway.

Both Cody and Monroe Police Chief Debra Duncan said they notified the public of the incidents and have advised residents to be watchful.

Jaclyn Sabatino, the mother of two of the children in the Monroe incident, said she was proud of her children for knowing the right thing to do.

“They acted on what they were taught,” she said of her 6- and 8-year-old daughters. “If you don’t practice with your children, they’re not going to know what to do. It’s not going to be real to them.”

Kirk Keough, who also lives in Meadowood, said the incident hasn’t changed his perspectives on the safety of the area.

“There’s always an adult watching,” he said. “I think it was just an off day.”

Sabatino was quick to point out that “it only takes one time.”

Police and parents offered these tips:

• Be aware of your surroundings

• Review with your children how to interact with strangers

• Treat everything as if it was real

• Have a communication system with neighbors

• Make sure your children know who to contact in an emergency